Once again, I come to you writing about a Lions player being arrested, this time cornerback Aaron Berry on three counts of simple assault. The news is nothing new around the league. The NFL news cycle has been highlighted by DUI arrests, and in that regard, this incident is something of a break from the norm, yet equally as disappointing.
In the interest of being fair to the Detroit Lions, I feel obligated to point out that a select few players are giving the entire team a negative connotation. Berry’s arrest was the 7th arrest of a Lions player this offseason, but three players have been arrested twice (Aaron Berry, Nick Fairley and Mikel Leshoure).
It would be unfair to say that the Lions are an organization without discipline, considering that the vast majority of the Lions players have been able to stay out of trouble this offseason. Still, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that they, like any other team in the league, have a few problem players that they need to be far more stern with.
The league is putting the Lions in a bad position in regard to their repeat arrestees. In the next couple of days, we’ll likely see various media personalities announce that the Lions should simple cut Aaron Berry, but this isn’t a Detroit problem, it’s a league problem. I’m not sure whether mandatory suspensions following arrests will fix the problem, but it would take pressure off the Lions and other teams to be the entity that deals out punishment.
Arrests have been a problem in the NFL and all sports leagues for a long time, and it’ll be a problem down the road. Eventually the NFL is going to push for more strict disciplinary practices that give harsher punishments for players that are arrested and charged with crimes, but until then we’re left with what has become an all-to-common news item in the NFL.
